Gareth Cliff heads to Silicon Valley

Financial services firm, Investec and its partners, the Entrepreneurship Development Trust and E-nnovate, have selected a group of tech entrepreneurs from across South Africa to participate in a one-week exploratory business trip to Silicon Valley, in the US.

The entrepreneurs, who all have operational businesses, were selected from more than 200 applicants. They hail from Hardware, FinTech, Mobile and EdTech, Investec said.

Among the successful applicants is radio personality, Gareth Cliff, who has forged a career in online radio through his venture, CliffCentral.

Investec said that the aim of sending entrepreneurs abroad, “is to get them to use global lessons to best advantage locally, and to start thinking about doing business globally”.

The tech entrepreneurs will meet with venture capital funds, angel investors, intellectual property lawyers, and Stanford University academics. They will also spend significant time with divisions at Google and Facebook HQ, engage with some of the most futuristic local start-ups, and participate in various pitching events with fellow tech entrepreneurs from the US, Russia, Germany and France.

The group will also attend the Silicon Valley Open Doors Conference in its 11-year history. Taking place from 25-26 May at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Silicon Valley.

Three members of the delegation are among the 35 pre-selected start-ups from around the world who will pitch on stage in front of the premier Silicon Valley angel investors and VCs.